Eye in the sky: Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology uses cameras to track drivers as they come and go - and allows firms to a greater number of automatic parking fines.

Figures from the DVLA have revealed an alarming rise in automatic parking fines issued by private firms following the introduction of hi-tech enforcement techniques at supermarkets and other car parks.

The number of electronic requests from private parking companies for vehicle details from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has leapt from 272,215 in 2006/07 to 1,167,713 in 2010/11 - a rise of 329 per cent.

With the average fine from private
parking firms at £80, it means penalties generated this way now cost
drivers £93million each year, compared to £21million in 2007.

The requests are made by parking firms so they can send penalty fines to drivers. They do not represent the fines from paper tickets attached to windscreens, but where offences are recorded electronically by the firm without the driver being notified at the time.

Parking firms have to pay the DVLA just £2.50 for the information, which is granted to them as long as officials are satisfied that there is 'reasonable cause' that an infringement has taken place.

It is thought around half of the fines issued by private parking firms arise this way. These are separate from the 8million Penalty Charge Notices issued by councils or the police each year.

The huge increase is the result of new tactics employed by private parking firms that leave no leeway for drivers and have the potential to trap drivers into infringements through confusing rules and easily committed mistakes.

The weapons being employed to ensnare drivers include number plate-reading cameras mounted high in the air and unmanned machines that require licence details to be entered precisely.

HOW REQUESTS FORDATA TO FINE DRIVERS ROSE 329%

YEAR

TOTAL

2006/07

272,215

2007/08

499,732

2008/09

687,138

2009/10

1,034,592

2010/11

1,167,713

Source: DVLA

The technology is on the rise. Supermarket giants Tesco and Sainsbury's confirmed they use the technology at some stores, although Sainsbury's said it is only found in 2.5 per cent of its car parks.

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Asda said it used the technology in car parks where there has been a problem of use by non-shoppers, and that it will expand it to 10 per cent of its stores this year. Asda donates fine generated by abuse of disabled bays to the Mobile disability charity.

Homebase uses it in around 10 per cent of stores and the technology is also found at Gatwick. Heathrow operator BAA said it uses the technology at all its airports.

The rise in automatic fines came to light following a request to the DVLA by Nick Smith, the Labour MP for Blaenau Gwent. Mr Smith had received dozens of complaints from constituents about the car park attached the The Walk shopping precinct in Ebbw Vale.

'The car park had been there for years but had not been very professionally run. Lots of residents had become used to using it for free without any problem', Mr Smith said.

Nick Smith, MP for Blaenau Gwent, began looking into private parking charges after complaints from his constituents.

'When the car park was taken over by a new parking management company, Excel Parking Services, the complaints started to come in.'

Mr Smith said he had several letters from disabled people who held Blue Badges and who had been using the car park for free under the old regime. Other cases involved taxis that had parked up to collect elderly customers who had to wait for assistance with loading their shopping.

Managing agents of the car park confirmed to Mr Smith that 29 Blue Badge holders had been issued with multiple parking charge notices in the first three months of Excel taking over.

Mr Smith said: 'Excel came in and began enforcing the rules very aggressively, but there was not enough improvement to the signage to let people know what was expected.'

Mr Smith said constituents were confused by a new system that required drivers to enter their full number plate when entering the car park, and that they did not notice signs telling them they had to pay.

Excel said that it had put up 35 extra signs to inform drivers of the rules and had allowed a settling in period of 17 days in which staff were on-hand to explain the charges.

In a statement, Excel said: 'Great attention to detail is taken when specifying sign schedules for car parks managed by Excel Parking, and every effort is made to position such signs in the most prominent user friendly locations.

A new business model

The case in Ebbw Vale demonstrates the latest approach by a new generation of private parking companies.

Specialist firms will be employed by landowners - often large businesses such as supermarkets, out-of-town retail parks and airports. These landowners keep any money generated by parking fees, leaving penalty charges as the only way for parking firms to make money.

These firms are taking a hi-tech approach in order to maximise the fines they collect.

In particular, cameras armed with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology, which mechanically reads and records number plates as cars come and go, has contributed to fines being levelled in greater numbers.

Regime change: One of the signs that confronted users of the car park at The Walk in Ebbw Vale when Excel Parking took over.

The cameras are sometimes used alongside machines that require drivers to enter their number plate when they pay to enter to the car park. A computer matches payments up with the number plates recorded by the cameras. If a plate has been entered incorrectly, even by one digit, a fine is generated.

In the case of The Walk in Ebbw Vale, many drivers had assumed they were being asked to enter the just final three characters of their number plate, as was normal in other car parks in the area, when the machine required the whole number.

The cameras can also be used to generate fines where drivers outstay their allotted time.

This may be used either for 'pay-and-display' car parks where drivers pay for an agreed time, or for car parks that are free but only for a set period. The days of hoping an attendant hasn't got round to checking your car, it seems, are numbered.

The British Parking Association, the trade body for private parking firms, said the technology merely enforces existing rules, and that the rise in requests to the DVLA did not necessarily mean more fines were being handed out.

Patrick Troy, chief executive of the British Parking Association (BPA), said: 'The technology has moved forward and it is less likely for you to see a warden strolling around a car park any more. While there has been a rise in fines issued this way, it means fewer fines are being attached to windscreens.

'There are more out-of-town retailers and they are looking for ways to control their parking spaces so that they can keep their customers numbers turning over.'

The BPA said it had strengthened its code of conduct to make sure firms are only requesting vehicle data where infringements have taken place. Mr Troy added that five firms have had there accreditation removed for failing to stick to the code.

Nick Smith said that he was pushing for a parliamentary debate on private parking firms and has called for the BPA to toughen its code of practice. Legislation going through parliament will create an independent appeals service for drivers issued with fines from private firms from October. This will be provided by the BPA.

He also said there was a problem with drivers wrongly assuming fines from private firms were issued by the council, and were therefore enforceable under the statute. Private firms label their fines as 'Parking Charge Notices', abreviated to 'PCN', which Mr Smith said was too close to the 'Penalty Charge Notices', also abreviated to 'PCN', issued by council traffic warden and the police.

Penalty Charge Notices are subject to a far stricter regime and are legally binding unless drivers can successfully appeal. Fines from private firms, on the other hand, depend only on rules surrounding trespass.

Drivers can refuse to pay and it is up to firms to convince a judge that an offence took place, including that drivers had been given proper information through clearly visible signs.